FOR A PENNY 022615 - CUSHIONS

James Michael Taylor

FOR A PENNY

From the moment Toy saw the light
he was the center of attention.
In a room full of sunlight and ‘Welcome,”
he was a new dimension.
Tiny traveler, arriving wet
Peggy hardly breaking a sweat
Toy was born in the middle of the day.
August 18th, 1987
His brothers and sisters were there
Peggy was on our bed
That evening Peggy was playing
In a band with Mad Max
At the Blues Bar so I took Toy
Down to nurse. Boy, were they surprised
They didn’t know that she had
given birth just hours earlier
From the moment Toy learned to walk
He wanted to run. He was frustrated
He couldn’t hit the ball like his brother
And that made him angry
As soon as he learned to talk
He’d say, “What’s the point, Jim?”
One day we were stopped at the light
And I said, “Look at the jumpy car, Toy.”
He said, “Jim, it’s hydraulics.”
Abortion’s cheap in San Antonio,
compared to Dallas and Fort Worth
So, we’d gone down for a little vacation
I was feeling sad
I’d already started calling this kid, Toy.
So, I took a penny and I said to Peggy,
“I put this penny on the side of the scale that says.
‘We keep this baby.’ “
If I have regrets, and one among many
Sometimes I wish I’d saved that penny
Toy’s grown up now and his skills equal his imagination
From the moment Toy saw the light
He was the center of attention
In a room full of sunlight and welcome
He was a new dimension
Tiny traveler, arriving wet
Peggy, hardly breaking a sweat…

(C) 2015 Royal T Music
True’s birthday - August 18, 1989

I called him Toy but people complained so I changed his name to “True.” True Rayn. Like rain with a ray of sunlight.